The emergence of conspicuous consumption and mass marketing are often associated with the twentieth century, but both have precursors going back centuries. This course examines advertising and consumer culture in America during what historians have termed the “consumer revolution” of the twentieth century. In addition to exploring the meanings of goods and the culture of acquisition and display, we will interrogate connections between consumer habits and political activities during the era of the American Revolution and into the early nineteenth century. We will consider formative debates, including whether supply or demand caused the consumer revolution and to what extent commerce and consumer politics played a role in the American Revolution. We will also grapple with enduring questions: Do consumers have moral and ethical responsibilities when they make purchases? In what ways do politics intersect with consumption? We will consult a variety of primary sources – newspaper advertisements, magazine wrappers and inserts, broadsides, catalogs, pamphlets, trade cards, bill heads, subscription proposals, bills of lading, printed blanks, watch papers, and furniture labels – as we analyze how early Americans participated in consumer society.